STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (April 19, 2015) – The Rutgers-Newark baseball team split its non-conference doubleheader against The City College of New York Sunday at the College of Staten Island.
The Scarlet Raiders came back to win the opener by a 9-5 final, but fell short, 6-5, in the nightcap. In the second game, Rutgers-Newark erased a 5-1 deficit late.
R-N will head into a visit to Misericordia University on Tuesday with an overall record of 11-23. CCNY moves to 12-10 overall.
Game 1The Raiders scored three runs in the top half of the first inning and one more in the second to open a 4-0 lead, but CCNY was able to battle back and take a 5-4 edge in the bottom of the fifth. That one-run margin would hold up until the top of the seventh when Rutgers-Newark scored five times to go up 9-5, eventually winning by that same score.
The first two R-N batters of the game – juniors
Billy Taylor and
Gerry Patrizio – reached base on an error and fielder's choice, each getting a stolen base to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Junior
Ryan MacFarlane drove in the first run of a game with a groundout, and sophomore left fielder
Josh Cote singled through the left side to drive in Patrizio. Junior
Cameron Dias closed the opening-inning scoring with a two-out run-scoring single to right.
The Scarlet raiders put on the leadoff man in the second thanks to an error, and eventually scored their fourth run of the game when Patrizio singled, allowing Taylor to advance to third before scoring on a throwing error.
After CCNY took the lead in the fifth, Newark went down in order in the sixth, before exploding for five tallies in its last at-bat. Taylor and Patrizio reached base to start the inning, and after a groundout, Cote came through with a two-run single to left to give Rutgers-Newark the lead. Freshman catcher
Justin Marks singled to left field, placing runners at first and third for a moment before he stole second base ahead of an RBI single from Dias. Senior third baseman
Nick Gencarelli provided the final insurance markers, driving in Marks and Dias with a two-run double to left field.
In the seventh, winning pitcher
JR Hilcher retired the side in order to lock down the team's 11th win of the year. Hilcher went 2.0 innings to move to 2-3 on the season. He allowed one hit and struck out one. Junior
Chris Nichols went the first five for Rutgers, allowing five runs (all earned) on 10 hits, striking out three and walking none.
Cote led the offense, going 2-for-4 with three RBI's, and Dias was 2-for-4 with two RBI's and a run scored. Gencarelli went 2-for-3 with two RBI's and a walk and Marks ended game one 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Taylor scored three runs and Patrizio crossed the plate twice.
Game 2Rutgers-Newark was able to fight back from a 5-1 deficit in the fifth, but CCNY came away with the win and the split by the 6-5 final.
Dias and senior third baseman
Nick Gencarelli started the R-N comeback bid in the sixth with a double and a single, and MacFarlane drove in Dias with a base hit. Bohannon singled to load the bases with nobody out, allowing a sacrifice fly from senior catcher
Dan Lopez to trim the deficit to two (5-3).
A productive ground out from sophomore second baseman
Jeff Reinecke pulled Rutgers-Newark within one, before a two-out single from Taylor brought in Bohannon and tied things at five.
Rutgers-Newark starter Michael Zibrin pitched very well over the first four innings, before running into trouble in the fifth. An error opened the door for the Beavers, and they eventually got a three-run double from senior shortstop Yoribaldis Olivo to take the 5-1 advantage.
CCNY scored the winning run in the sixth with a one-out single from second baseman Jonathan Abreu.
Zibrin suffered the loss (1-2) for Rutgers-Newark, going 6.0 innings. He allowed six runs (three earned) and struck out three.
Taylor reached base four times and was 2-for-2 (two walks), and Bohannon went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as the Raiders totaled eight hits and worked seven walks in the nightcap.
